Month: June 2015

With the new Supreme Court ruling, many are worried about religious freedom. What if someone doesn’t want to sell a same-sex couple a marriage cake? The argument is that if the baker is a Christian, then forcing them to sell marriage related items would hinder their religious freedom. Of course, this argument ignores, importantly, that many Christians have no problem with homosexuality.

Well, let’s examine religious freedom vs. the social conservative Christian baker. Better, let’s make the baker Catholic. Catholics do not believe in divorce, and they definitely don’t accept remarriage. I want to know how many Catholic bakers have refused service to couples who had been previously divorced. Where’s the outrage? After all, this has, surely, happened at least once. Surely, there are Catholic bakers. No outrage? That’s a little suspicious. I know, maybe, there’s no outrage; because, Catholic bakers don’t, normally, turn down previously divorced couples.

Listen, I do hold religious freedom as something important, and I offer a solution. The Christian baker not serving a homosexual couple and the Catholic not serving previously divorced couples share something in common. They were not preforming the action they considered anathema and against their belief system. They were merely preforming a public service. They just didn’t like what the purpose of their products represented. Now, if a person was forced to actually preform, say a marriage, by all means they shouldn’t be forced. A minister shouldn’t be forced to administer a marriage. The minister’s situation is different. The minister is actually doing the action he/she thinks is immoral. Similarly, religious institutions should not be forced to do things, within reason, that is against their beliefs. I don’t think a Southern Baptist church should be forced to allow a same-sex marriage reception on their premises. However, places open to the public are just that. They are places where the owners and employees are supposed to be servicing those who order services or products without checking off anyone whose way of being in the world is in disagreement with the owners world view.

Many say that the homosexual couple should just go to a different baker. Well, they certainly could. Unless of course, they live in a small town with only one bakery, or they can’t find a non-Christian bakery within a reasonable distance. (Imagine if the couple doesn’t have reliable transportation.) Even if the prior example never happened, what would happen is technically segregation. What if a KKK member said they didn’t want to serve non-whites, because it interfered with their religious world view? I, for one, don’t want to live in that kind of world.

Share this:

Like this:

Atheists, obviously, do not derive their morals from scripture, and many of us are proud of that. Many see certain laws in scriptures as harmful and immoral. Lately, I’ve taken an interest in metaethics and moral psychology. I will start to post more on these subjects when I have more readings under my belt. I did take a biomedical ethics philosophy course, but I still feel the need to dig deeper. Below is my initial position:

Morality only exists in a world with somewhat complex creatures. Morality is a product of evolution in social animals. Humans are capable of superior morals. Look at how some of us can do complex differential equations in our head! Certainly, we could be able solve complex moral and social issues.

I’m not saying morals are subjective. I think, objectively, there are both good and bad behaviors. Still, I AM saying, if there was only one complex being alive, then many moral rules wouldn’t matter.

I am skeptical of utilitarianism. I don’t think the main thing that matters is the amount of pleasure, nor do I think the end always justifies the means. I think part of utilitarianism could be right, but I think it needs some additions and subtractions.
.

Like this:

I am a devout skeptic. (For those unfamiliar with the term The Devout Skeptic see my post on it.) What matters to me is whether God exists or not. The truth is what is of upmost importance.

Still, theists often bring up studies, claiming religious people are happier. I have no reason to look up the studies. I think it may very well be true, but people can be happy without religion.

I’ve confessed on this blog before about my schizoaffective disorder depressive type. (I have a few other issues as well.) In the early stages of my disorder, I was beyond isolated. I moved in with a family member who I felt at the time mistreated me, so I tried to be in bed when the person was home. I had no car and knew no one in the area.
I was, also, trying to see if my childhood atheism was correct. I decided to go to an Episcopalian church. The priest was the nicest man I have ever met. He’d even pay for my meds when I couldn’t. Everyone else was nice too.

Plus, they taught me contemplative prayer. It did feel trancendent
and calming, but many people feel this spiritual experience from meditation and prayer. I know Sam Harris wrote a book on this. I’m not normally a fan, but I’ve read half of it. It seems good so far. I digress…

For me, religion was temporarily helpful. I think it was 99% being genuinely cared for and 1% contemplative prayer, but it had to end. I couldn’t live with being intellectually diahonest.

I’m much happier than I used to be why? I have chosen a dream to chase.

Share this:

Like this:

Many have the tendency to demonize those on any kind of welfare. I submit to you this wrong. There are some poor people who are lazy. The poor are like everyone else. Some of them are wonderful people, and some are not. Despite the previous fact, it shouldn’t matter. A person who isn’t nice still deserves food and other basic needs.

Welfare is not the problem. The problem is lack of work rehabilitation. We need to do more to help the poor find a way to learn skills. Then, they will be able to take jobs that pay enough, so they no longer need assitance.

Many come from poor or broken families and may need life coaches to help understand how to interview for jobs and how to hold on to them. They need training on how to handle work related stress such as a bad boss. No, being poor doesn’t make one stupid, but depending on the family they come from, some things just aren’t common sense.

No one is a queen on welfare. No, instead, finances are so tight some are a candy bar away from over drawing the bank. No one, I’m their right minds, wants to be on welfare, when they could do better being independent.

Like this:

We all have dreams, but the unfortunate fact is that most never fullfill them all. In addition, many times our core dreams are dashed to the ground by ourselves or outside forces beyond our control.

When this happens, do not give up on satisfaction and happiness in life. I may be no life coach. I may not be an expert, but I have experienced utter failure. I know my original hopes and dreams might be gone to some degree, and I’ve experienced more than a few bumps along the trail of life due to schizoaffective disorder and a couple of other issues. Still, I think I’ve found out how to handle loss. When a dream dies, regroup and dream again. Find a new passion. It may be hard to think of something at first, but there is so much in this world.

Yes,I still have psychotic and other issues at times, but in the background, I always try to reach for my dream. If one does not go forwards, then the only place to go is backwards. I could die at any momment; although, I hope I don’t. In my dieing moments even if I go too soon, at least I’ve tried my best. That’s good enough for me.

Share this:

Like this:

Many Christians point towards the empty tomb as a historical fact. They, then, say it is unlikely that Jesus’s body was stolen and the guards bribed. Question: how is a resurection ever more likely compared to just about any other explanation. Yes, women’s testimony wasn’t taken as seriously back then. So what? How is a resurection likely given that story or the other circumstantial “evidence?”